Zac Jones can sense the opportunity in front of him.
Entering his fourth season in the Rangers organization, the 21-year-old defenseman is staring down a clearer path to a roster spot with the NHL club than ever before. After veteran Patrik Nemeth was dealt to the Coyotes this offseason, there’s a job up for grabs that is Jones’ to win. He knows it, too, and that certainly played a part in his decision to attend rookie camp this week — even though the Rangers gave him the option not to.
“I think that spot’s open,” Jones said after the first day of rookie camp Wednesday at MSG Training Center. “It’s going to be a healthy competition between a bunch of guys and I’m excited for it.”
The spot is the sixth defenseman role and his competition will be fellow left-handed blueliners Libor Hajek, Jarred Tinordi and Matthew Robertson. Of the four competing for the job, Jones has the third-most NHL experience (22 games) behind Tinordi’s 109-game career and Hajek’s 94 contests over four seasons. Robertson has yet to make his NHL debut, but his physical presence makes him an enticing option as well.
Hajek, who proved to be a pro’s pro last season in a depth role, may be the safest and most familiar option for Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant — but that also means it’s not set in stone. A strong camp from Jones could be the difference between an assignment back to AHL Hartford or making the Rangers’ opening-night roster.
“You know, I was really disappointed I got sent down at the beginning of the year,” said Jones, who scored nine goals and dished 26 assists in 52 AHL games for the Wolf Pack last season. “But I was really happy with me being down in Hartford last year. I got to play a lot. I got to really develop. I really got to learn the pro game.
“I think me being down in Hartford last year for those 50 games was huge for me and my development.”
The Rangers’ 68th-overall pick in the 2019 draft was one of the most consistent defensemen for Hartford last season, quarterbacking the top power play in addition to playing major minutes. He noted that he feels “way more” confident coming into this season after spending some more time with the Rangers and getting the full AHL experience as well.
Technically, Jones is no longer a rookie. The rule states if a player competes in more than 25 NHL games in any preceding seasons or in six or more NHL games in each of any two preceding seasons then he loses his rookie status. Jones’ 10 games in 2019-20 and 12 games in 2020-21 fit that bill.
“I think it’s more just getting myself loose, getting ready for main camp,” Jones said when asked what this week will be about for him. “Obviously, played here last year, so they’ve seen me. I really needed to come out here and prove myself, try to be a leader out here. Just kind of taking the younger guys that are in their first camp and try to help them out. That’s my biggest thing is trying to be a leader.”
Jones made a point to mention he spent a good portion of the summer in the gym, where he was able to gain about 10 pounds and come in to camp around 180. Though his ice vision and strong ability to be deceptive has always helped outweigh whatever concerns there have been about his size. Still, it was an area Jones sought to address.
“Last year, I was pretty light,” he said. “I got pushed around a lot and I took that into account this summer. I really tried to work on my strength, tried to get in the gym as much as possible. That was my biggest focus.”